Protecting Young Lovers
by Amles80
Summary: The former Maou and her son wonder if there's ever going to be a wedding between Yuuri and Wolfram. Conrad is more worried about King Saralegui's intentions than he wants to admit. Written after watching episode 99, so I don't know more than Conrad yet.


Cäcilie von Spitzveg was worried sometimes about her sons, and now, about her youngest.

"Conrad", she said, confiding in the one she felt best could understand her, "what do you think about Wolfram and Yuuri? Will there ever be a wedding?"

Conrad, who had been looking dreamily out of the window, was brutally snapped back to the real world.

"Mother, what do you mean? Surely it's too soon to think about that, they are both so young."

Young, rash, inexperienced and naïve and so not ready for marriage, especially not Yuuri. And probably not Wolfram either, whatever he might say about it.

"I don't think so", she insisted. "You know what I mean. Do you believe that Yuuri loves your brother?"

Ugh. Love. Such a complicated word, a word to get lost and lose oneself in – and although his mother might use it too indiscriminately sometimes, he feared that she was oh so serious this time.

"Well", he said, trying to find a way to get out of the trap, "I believe it's complex. Love is… a big word with many layers of meaning, and there's no doubt that love is sort of the essence of Yuuri's being. He is a boy who loves, who trusts, who…"

"Yes." Cäcilie interrupted him. She walked up to her son and put a hand on his arm. "I know what Yuuri is like. He's adorable. But the question is, does he love Wolfram… more than he loves you, for instance?"

Conrad flinched and forced himself to look his mother in the eyes – green like Wolfram's and almost as big, but older, and more clear-sighted than people sometimes gave her credit for. One might think that love was just a game to her – passion, seduction, romance – but he believed she took it more seriously than most. But now he wished she wouldn't think so much about it.

"Honestly?" he asked.

"Honestly", she replied firmly. "I have my theories. Now I want your opinion."

"Yuuri…" he began slowly, searching for words, a way to put these thoughts, "Yuuri thinks of all of us as his family now. I believe that he is genuinely attached to Wolfram and would do anything to help him if he needed to. Yuuri and I have a special bond… but I believe he's forming another kind of bond with Wolfram."

"Yes", said his mother impatiently, "but is he _in love_ with him? Does he get butterflies in his stomach when he sees him? Is his skin tingling all over when he thinks of him? Does he feel lonely in his dreams if Wolfram doesn't sleep next to him?"

Conrad thought that Wolfram, even though he might never admit it, had fallen so deeply for the black-haired boy that _he_ secretly felt all these signs, and more, of being in love – in fact, Conrad was ready to bet his horse on it. But Yuuri, on the other hand…

"Mother", he said and put his arm around her, "I'm afraid I don't think Yuuri is in love with him."

Cäcilie sighed deeply and rested her golden head against his chest.

"That's what I thought. But maybe… maybe with time… I just think it's sad; no one should have to get married without being in love, or marry someone who isn't in love with them. Do you think Wolfram will get his heart broken?"

"Maybe they'll both get their hearts broken", Conrad suggested, thinking about his brief conversation on the ship with the boy who had lived in Yuuri's world and knew a lot about things that were hidden for most people.

"Is there someone else? Another boy? Or a girl?"

_King Saralegui_, Conrad thought. He'd be a fool not to consider it. The way Yuuri had acted; it was something more than just his normal way of rushing to the defence of anyone he thought needed it. But how much more?

"I don't know", he replied. "I don't think so."

Yuuri and the other young king didn't know each other that well, after all. They hadn't spent that much time together.

On the other hand, how long does it take to fall in love? To feel infatuation and attraction, perhaps for the very first time? To be drawn to someone in a way that can't be explained because it seems to be something so new, so unique, that there are no words for it; no way to talk about it?

"That's a relief", Cäcilie sighed.

She cared about Yuuri too, but her main priority was her son. Conrad, too, wished to protect his little brother if he could, but he also needed to protect Yuuri. Yet in this situation, what could he do for any of them, with so little information to go on.

He decided to at least not mention anything about King Saralegui to his mother; she didn't need to know, and it would only upset her.

Conrad didn't know what there was to know anyway. Yuuri called the young king 'Sara' and he talked about 'friendship'… But what was his 'Sara' up to? Yuuri's sharp-eyed friend didn't need to tell Conrad there was something going on behind the façade; he had figured it out by himself. Saralegui and Beryes… If only he knew _what_ was going on. He wanted to trust the young king – for Yuuri's sake, if nothing else – but he wasn't sure that he could.

'Sara' had managed to win Wolfram over, too – not a small feat to pull off. But the boy might be a heartbreaker.

"But…" He hesitated, and his mother looked inquiringly at him. His eyes flickered, confused. Wasn't she the one who was asking _him _for advice?

"I know you want them both to be happy", he said. "So do I… but I share your concern. Is there something… anything we can do to protect them?"

Wasn't she the resident expert on love after all?

"I'm afraid not", she said. "Don't think that I don't _want to_… there are things like love potions, and… but the truth is that these things only get worse when friends and family try to interfere."

Conrad nodded slowly, although he was no less confused. Should he try to keep Yuuri away from his new friend, or should he just wait and see?

"I suppose there is no protection against love."

"No protection and no cure", his mother confirmed. "And yet we are all looking for it."


End file.
